What is Islam?

Islam is not a new religion but the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events that have come to be associated with their faith.

How does Islam guarantee human rights?

Freedom of conscience is laid down by the Quran itself: 'There is no compulsion in religion'. (Quran; 2:256)

The life and property of all citizens are considered sacred whether a person is Muslim or not.

Racism is incomprehensible to Muslims, for the Quran speaks of human equality in the following terms:

O mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the most honoured of you in God's sight is the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All Aware (Quran; 49:13)

(from: http://www.islamicity.com/ )

Equality of Human Beings

Islam not only recognises absolute equality between men, irrespective of any distinction of colour, race or nationality, but also makes it an important and significant principle, a reality. The Almighty God has laid down in the Holy Quran: "O mankind, we have created you from a male and female." In other words all human beings are brothers to one another. They all are the descendants from one father and one mother. "And we set you up as nations and tribes so that you may be able to recognise each other" (Quran; 49:13).

This means that the division of human beings into nations, races, groups and tribes is for the sake of distinction, so that people of one race or tribe may meet and be acquainted with the people belonging to another race or tribe and cooperate with one another. This division of the human race is neither meant for one nation to take pride in its superiority over others nor is it meant for one nation to treat another with contempt or disgrace, or regard them as a mean and degraded race and usurp their rights. "Indeed, the noblest among you before God are the most heedful of you" (Quran; 49:13).

In other words, the superiority of one man over another is only on the basis of God-consciousness, purity of character and high morals, and not on the basis of colour, race, language or nationality, and even this superiority based on piety and pure conduct does not justify that such people should play lord or assume airs of superiority over other human beings. Assuming airs of superiority is in itself a reprehensible vice which no God-fearing and pious man can ever dream of perpetrating. Nor does the righteous have more privileged rights over others, because this runs counter to human equality, which has been laid down in the beginning of this verse as a general principle. From the moral point of view, goodness and virtue is in all cases better than vice and evil.

This has been exemplified by the Prophet in one of his sayings thus: "No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay" (al-Bayhaqi and al-Bazzaz).

In this manner, Islam established equality for the entire human race and struck at the very root of all distinctions based on colour, race, language or nationality. According to Islam, God has given man this right of equality as a birthright. Therefore no man should be discriminated against on the ground of the colour of his skin, his place of birth, the race or the nation in which he was born.

(from: http://www.witness-pioneer.org/ )

Excerpt from: Malaysia Today (Raja Petra Kamaruddin)

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Barack Obama at Wesleyan Commencement Ceremony

Full Text of Barack Obama's Prepared Speech

Wesleyan University Commencement
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
Middletown, Connecticutt


Thank you, President Roth, for that generous introduction, and congratulations on your first year at the helm of Wesleyan. Congratulations also to the class of 2008, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your graduation.

I have the distinct honor today of pinch-hitting for one of my personal heroes and a hero to this country, Senator Edward Kennedy. Teddy wanted to be here very much, but as you know, he’s had a very long week and is taking some much-needed rest. He called me up a few days ago and I said that I’d be happy to be his stand-in, even if there was no way I could fill his shoes.

I did, however, get the chance to glance at the speech he planned on delivering today, and I’d like to start by passing along a message from him: “To all those praying for my return to good health, I offer my heartfelt thanks. And to any who’d rather have a different result, I say, don’t get your hopes up just yet!”

So we know that Ted Kennedy’s legendary sense of humor is as strong as ever, and I have no doubt that his equally legendary fighting spirit will carry him through this latest challenge. He is our friend, he is our champion, and we hope and pray for his return to good health.

The topic of his speech today was common for a commencement, but one that nobody could discuss with more authority or inspiration than Ted Kennedy.

That is, the topic of service to one’s country – a cause that is synonymous with his family’s name and their legacy.

I was born the year that his brother John called a generation of Americans to ask their country what they could do. And I came of age at a time when they did it. They were the Peace Corps volunteers who won a generation of goodwill toward America at a time when America ’s ideals were challenged.

They were the teenagers and college students, not much older than you, who watched the Civil Rights Movement unfold on their television sets; who saw the dogs and the fire hoses and the footage of marchers beaten within an inch of their lives; who knew it was probably smarter and safer to stay at home, but still decided to take those Freedom Rides down south – who still decided to march.

And because they did, they changed the world.

I bring this up because today, you are about to enter a world that makes it easy to get caught up in the notion that there are actually two different stories at work in our lives.

The first is the story of our everyday cares and concerns – the responsibilities we have to our jobs and our families – the bustle and busyness of what happens in our own life.

And the second is the story of what happens in the life of our country – of what happens in the wider world.

It’s the story you see when you catch a glimpse of the day’s headlines or turn on the news at night – a story of big challenges like war and recession; hunger and climate change; injustice and inequality. It’s a story that can sometimes seem distant and separate from our own – a destiny to be shaped by forces beyond our control.

And yet, the history of this nation tells us this isn’t so. It tells us that we are a people whose destiny has never been written for us, but by us – by generations of men and women, young and old, who have always believed that their story and the American story are not separate, but shared. And for more than two centuries, they have served this country in ways that have forever enriched both.

I say this to you as someone who couldn’t be standing here today if not for the service of others, and wouldn’t be standing here today if not for the purpose that service gave my own life.

You see, I spent much of my childhood adrift. My father left my mother and I when I was two. When my mother remarried, I lived in Indonesia for a time, but was mostly raised in Hawaii by her and my grandparents from Kansas . My teenage years were filled with more than the usual dose of adolescent rebellion, and I’ll admit that I didn’t always take myself or my studies very seriously. I realize that none of you can probably relate to this, but there were many times when I wasn’t sure where I was going, or what I would do.

But during my first two years of college, perhaps because the values my mother had taught me –hard work, honesty, empathy – had resurfaced after a long hibernation; or perhaps because of the example of wonderful teachers and lasting friends, I began to notice a world beyond myself. I became active in the movement to oppose the apartheid regime of South Africa . I began following the debates in this country about poverty and health care. So that by the time I graduated from college, I was possessed with a crazy idea – that I would work at a grassroots level to bring about change.

I wrote letters to every organization in the country I could think of.

And one day, a small group of churches on the South Side of Chicago offered me a job to come work as a community organizer in neighborhoods that had been devastated by steel plant closings. My mother and grandparents wanted me to go to law school. My friends were applying to jobs on Wall Street. Meanwhile, this organization offered me $12,000 a year plus $2,000 for an old, beat-up car.

And I said yes.

Now, I didn’t know a soul in Chicago , and I wasn’t sure what this community organizing business was all about. I had always been inspired by stories of the Civil Rights Movement and JFK’s call to service, but when I got to the South Side, there were no marches, and no soaring speeches. In the shadow of an empty steel plant, there were just a lot of folks who were struggling. And we didn’t get very far at first.

I still remember one of the very first meetings we put together to discuss gang violence with a group of community leaders. We waited and waited for people to show up, and finally, a group of older people walked into the hall. And they sat down. And a little old lady raised her hand and asked, “Is this where the bingo game is?”

It wasn’t easy, but eventually, we made progress. Day by day, block by block, we brought the community together, and registered new voters, and set up after school programs, and fought for new jobs, and helped people live lives with some measure of dignity.

But I also began to realize that I wasn’t just helping other people. Through service, I found a community that embraced me; citizenship that was meaningful; the direction I’d been seeking. Through service, I discovered how my own improbable story fit into the larger story of America .

Each of you will have the chance to make your own discovery in the years to come. And I say “chance” because you won’t have to take it.

There’s no community service requirement in the real world; no one forcing you to care.

You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should by.

You can choose to narrow your concerns and live your life in a way that tries to keep your story separate from America ’s.

But I hope you don’t. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate, though you do have that obligation. Not because you have a debt to all those who helped you get here, though you do have that debt.

It’s because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our INDIVIDUAL salvation depends on COLLECTIVE salvation.

Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition.

Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in America ’s story.

There are so many ways to serve and so much need at this defining moment in our history. You don’t have to be a community organizer or do something crazy like run for President. Right here at Wesleyan, many of you have already volunteered at local schools, contributed to United Way , and even started a program that brings fresh produce to needy families in the area. One hundred and sixty-four graduates of this school have joined the Peace Corps since 2001, and I’m especially proud that two of you are about to leave for my father’s homeland of Kenya to bring alternative sources of energy to impoverished areas.

I ask you to seek these opportunities when you leave here, because the future of this country – your future – depends on it.

At a time when our security and moral standing depend on winning hearts and minds in the forgotten corners of this world, we need more of you to serve abroad.

As President, I intend to grow the Foreign Service, double the Peace Corps over the next few years, and engage the young people of other nations in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity.

At a time when our ice caps are melting and our oceans are rising, we need you to help lead a green revolution. We still have time to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change if we get serious about investing in renewable sources of energy, and if we get a generation of volunteers to work on renewable energy projects, and teach folks about conservation, and help clean up polluted areas; if we send talented engineers and scientists abroad to help developing countries promote clean energy.

At a time when a child in Boston must compete with children in Beijing and Bangalore , we need an army of you to become teachers and principals in schools that this nation cannot afford to give up on. I will pay our educators what they deserve, and give them more support, but I will also ask more of them to be mentors to other teachers, and serve in high-need schools and high-need subject areas like math and science.

At a time when there are children in the city of New Orleans who still spend each night in a lonely trailer, we need more of you to take a weekend or a week off from work, and head down South, and help rebuild. If you can’t get the time, volunteer at the local homeless shelter or soup kitchen in your own community. Find an organization that’s fighting poverty, or a candidate who promotes policies you believe in, and find a way to help them.

At a time of war, we need you to work for peace.

At a time of inequality, we need you to work for opportunity.

At a time of so much cynicism and so much doubt, we need you to make us believe again.

Now understand this - believing that change is possible is not the same as being naïve.

Go into service with your eyes wide open, for change will not come easily. On the big issues that our nation faces, difficult choices await. We’ll have to face some hard truths, and some sacrifice will be required – not only from you individually, but from the nation as a whole.

There is no magic bullet to our energy problems, for example; no perfect energy source - so all of us will have to use the energy sources we have more wisely. Deep-rooted poverty will not be reversed overnight, and will require both money and reform at a time when our federal and state budgets are strapped and Washington is skeptical that reform is possible.

Transforming our education system will require not only bold government action, but a change in attitudes among parents and students. Bringing an end to the slaughter in Darfur will involve navigating extremely difficult realities on the ground, even for those with the best of intentions.

And so, should you take the path of service, should you choose to take up one of these causes as your own, know that you’ll experience frustrations and failures.

Even your successes will be marked by imperfections and unintended consequences. I guarantee you, there will certainly be times when friends or family urge you to pursue more sensible endeavors with more tangible rewards. And there will be times when you are tempted to take their advice.

But I hope you’ll remember, during those times of doubt and frustration, that there is nothing naïve about your impulse to change this world.

Because all it takes is one act of service – one blow against injustice – to send forth that tiny ripple of hope that Robert Kennedy spoke of.

You know, Ted Kennedy often tells a story about the fifth anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. He was there, and he asked one of the young Americans why he had chosen to volunteer.

And the man replied, “Because it was the FIRST time someone asked me to do something for my country.”

I don’t know how many of you have been asked that question, but after today, you have no excuses. I am asking you, and if I should have the honor of serving this nation as President, I will be asking again in the coming years. We may disagree on certain issues and positions, but I believe we can be unified in service to a greater good. I intend to make it a cause of my presidency, and I believe with all my heart that this generation is ready, and eager, and up to the challenge.

We will face our share of cynics and doubters. But we always have.

I can still remember a conversation I had with an older man all those years ago just before I left for Chicago . He said, “Barack, I’ll give you a bit of advice. Forget this community organizing business and do something that’s gonna make you some money. You can’t change the world, and people won’t appreciate you trying. But you’ve got a nice voice, so you should think about going into television broadcasting. I’m telling you, you’ve got a future.”

Now, he may have been right about the TV thing, but he was wrong about everything else. For that old man has not seen what I have seen.

He has not seen the faces of ordinary people the first time they clear a vacant lot or build a new playground or force an unresponsive leader to provide services to their community.

He has not seen the face of a child brighten because of an inspiring teacher or mentor.

He has not seen scores of young people educate their parents on issues like Darfur , or mobilize the conscience of a nation around the challengeof climate change.

He has not seen lines of men and women that wrap around schools and churches, that stretch block after block just so they could make their voices heard, many for the very first time.

And that old man who didn’t believe the world could change – who didn’t think one person could make a difference – well he certainly didn’t know much about the life of Joseph Kennedy’s youngest son.

It is rare in this country of ours that a person exists who has touched the lives of nearly every single American without many of us even realizing it. And yet, because of Ted Kennedy, millions of children can see a doctor when they get sick. Mothers and fathers can leave work to spend time with their newborns. Working Americans are paid higher wages, and compensated for overtime, and can keep their health insurance when they change jobs. They are protected from discrimination in the workplace, and those who are born with disabilities can still get an education, and health care, and fair treatment on the job. Our schools are stronger and our colleges are filled with more Americans who can afford it. And I have a feeling that Ted Kennedy is not done just yet.

But surely, if one man can achieve so much and make such a difference in the lives of so many, then each of us can do our part. Surely, if his service and his story can forever shape America ’s story, then our collective service can shape the destiny of this generation.

At the very least, his living example calls each of us to TRY . That is all I ask of you on this joyous day of new beginnings; that is what Senator Kennedy asks of you as well, and that is how we will keep so much needed work going, and the cause of justice everlasting, and the dream alive for generations to come.

Thank you so much to the class of 2008, and congratulations on your graduation.

Besto Regardo,
No doubt Senator Barack Obama is one of the great orators. His speeches always strike a chord of mine.

以上です。

そばにいるね（ステレオサウンド）青山テルマ

Song: Soba ni irune
Singer: Aoyama Thelma featuring Soulja

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Hadis: Wanita yang terbaik

Dari Abi Hurairah (RA. ) Rasulullah ( SAW) pernah ditanya: “Siapakah wanita terbaik” (solehah) . Jawabnya: “Ialah wanita yang menggembirakan kamu bila dilihat kepadanya dan sentiasa patuh dan taat bila disuruh, tidak menyalahinya pada dirinya dan hartanya dengan apa yang dibencinya (Hadis Riwayat Nasai dan Baihaqi).

Huraiannya:

Dalam hadis ini, Rasulullah saw menggambarkan bakal isteri yang solehah itu ialah wanita yang menawan dan pandai menggodanya. Disamping bersikap taat dan patuh kepada arahan suaminya dan tidak akan menyalahinya dalam sebarang kemahuannya (yang tidak bertentangan dengan agama) dalam pergaulan dan perbelanjaan hartanya. Itulah wanita solehah yang harus menjadi pilihan hati kaum lelaki.

Kesimpulannya:

Wanita terbaik bakal wanita pilihan itu ialah wanita yang solehah iaitu mereka menarik pandangan suami dan sentiasa taat dan mengikut kehendak suaminya.

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Kenali Taikun Automotif

Industri automotif tempatan pernah melahirkan ramai taikun automotif seperti Allahyarham Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin S.M. Amin yang mengasas Kumpulan Naza, Allahyarham Tan Sri Yahya Ahmad yang membangunkan Kumpulan DRB-HICOM dan mendiang Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew yang digelar 'Mr. Honda'.

Di sebalik kejayaan-kejayaan yang diuaruarkan tentang taikun-taikun automotif tempatan itu, sebenarnya masih banyak yang harus dilakukan oleh negara ini agar industri automotif negara berkembang sehingga mampu menembusi pasaran global.

Lihat sahaja bagaimana taikun-taikun automotif antarabangsa seperti Henry Ford dari Amerika Syarikat, Chung Ju Yung dari Korea Selatan, Kiichiro Toyoda dan Soichiro Honda dari Jepun, Gottlieb Daimler yang mencetuskan jenama kereta mewah Mercedes dan Karl Friedrich Rapp, pengasas BMW membina empayar.

Bagi motosikal pula, William S. Harley dan Arthur Davidson dari Milwaukee berusaha membina jenama kenderaan dua tayar berkuasa tinggi itu sehingga digeruni semua termasuk gergasi motosikal dari negara Asia terutama Jepun.

Henry Ford yang hidup selama 84 tahun sejak dilahirkan pada 30 Julai 1863 'melarikan diri' dari kehidupan sebagai petani seawal usia 16 tahun untuk menjadi tukang mesin.

Selepas beberapa tahun, Ford menubuhkan Ford Motor Company dan memulakan pemasangan kenderaan secara besar-besaran sehingga menjadikan beliau antara orang terkaya di dunia dan dianugerahkan 161 paten AS.

Ford yang percaya prinsip kepenggunaan sebagai kunci kedamaian dalam mencapai kejayaan mengabaikan akauntan dalam menjalankan perniagaan, sebaliknya menggunakan proses inovasi dalam mencapai pengurangan kos termasuk memperkenalkan sistem francais di seluruh dunia.

Selepas kematiannya, Ford meninggalkan harta-hartanya kepada Yayasan Ford namun meletakkan adikberadik serta anak-anaknya menguasai perniagaan itu. Taikun dari Korea Selatan, Chung Ju Yung, 83 yang mengasaskan konglomerat Hyundai pula bersama-sama adiknya sehingga menjadikan syarikat itu sebagai konglomerat multinasional terbesar atau chaebol asalnya adalah anak seorang petani yang menjana kewangan menerusi pelbagai pekerjaan.

Mendiang pernah menjalankan pelbagai kerja antaranya menggali tanah, menghantar 1001 lembu ke Korea Utara dan membangunkan kereta pertama keluaran Korea, PONY sebagai model pertama buatan Hyundai.

Pengeluar kenderaan terbesar dunia, Toyota Motor Corporation pula diasaskan oleh Kiichiro Toyoda, yang menyambung kerja-kerja ayahnya yang mencipta enjin jenis A pada tahun 1934 dan mengeluarkan kereta penumpang pertama yang diberi nama Toyota AA tahun 1936.

Toyota yang mempunyai 522 anak syarikat turut memiliki dan menguruskan perniagaan kenderaan jenama Lexus dan Scion selain mempunyai kepentingan dalam Daihatsu Motors dan Fuji Heavy Industries, Isuzu Motors dan Yamaha Motors.

Pengasas kereta Honda, Soichiro Honda yang hidup selama 85 tahun dilahirkan di Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan merupakan seorang jurutera industri ringan Jepun. Sejak di zaman kanakkanak lagi, Honda yang tidak pernah mendapat pendidikan secara formal sepanjang hidupnya menghabiskan masa bagi membantu bapa beliau, Gihei, dalam perniagaan membaiki basikal.

Pada usia 15 tahun, Honda berhijrah ke Tokyo dengan mula bekerja di garaj sebelum diberi tanggungjawab lebih besar sebagai mekanik kenderaan selama enam tahun, selepas itu pulang semula ke kampung dan memulakan perniagaan membaiki kenderaan sendiri.

Hampir 10 tahun selepas itu, Honda mula mengeluarkan alat ganti untuk enjin kecil yang menjurus kepada pengilangan enjin berkuasa rendah untuk motosikal.

Bintang Honda mula menyinar pada tahun 1948 apabila mendiang menjadi Presiden Honda Motor Company dan mengeluarkan motosikal lengkap.

Pesaing Honda, walaupun dalam segmen pasaran yang berbeza iaitu Harley Davidson pula diasaskan oleh dua sahabat, William S. Harley dan Arthur Davidson seawal usia 20-an menerusi pelan pembangunan enjin berasaskan motor dan basikal.

Pada mulanya usaha penghasilan enjin motosikal oleh dua sahabat itu mengalami kegagalan kerana enjin ciptaan mereka tidak berupaya mendaki bukit di Milwaukee tanpa bantuan pengayuh.

Tidak berputus-asa, mereka membangunkan enjin generasi kedua yang lebih baik dengan 24.74 kubik inci atau 405 cc dan menjadi pencetus enjin berkuasa tinggi berjenama Harley Davidson yang terkenal serata dunia.

Jenama kereta mewah Mercedes pula asalnya dari nama anak gadis pengedar kenderaan dan penggemar sukan lumba, Emil Jellinek yang mempunyai anak perempuan bernama Mércédès Jellinek.

Walau bagaimanapun, sejarah menunjukkan Mercedes berasal dari jenama Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) yang mula dibangunkan pada tahun 1900, selepas kematian salah seorang pengasasnya, Gottlieb Daimler.

Ketika itu, Jellinek mengadakan usaha sama dengan DMG untuk mendapatkan siri kereta lumba yang menggunakan enjin sempena nama anak perempuannya.

Jellinek berjaya dalam banyak perlumbaan sehingga berjaya menarik minat ramai peminat automotif pada masa itu sehingga beliau dilantik sebagai ahli lembaga pengarah DMG.

BMW atau Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works) pula diasaskan oleh Karl Friedrich Rapp pada tahun 1916.

Ramai percaya logo BMW adalah ilustrasi kipas yang berpusing dengan berlatar belakangkan kebiruan langit, mungkin sebenarnya ia adalah warna bendera bandar Bavaria.

Sumber: Mingguan Malaysia

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Mengatur Langkah

Sudah lama tak mengarut dalam blog ni. Maklumlah dihimpit kesibukan yang tidak kunjung padam. Sudah lama juga tidak mengarang dalam Bahasa Melayu. Terasa rindu pula untuk bermain bahasa.

Ungkapan "Man's life begins at 40" sudah acapkali kita dengari. Tapi persoalan yang timbul di kotak mindaku ialah kenapa 40 tahun. Apakah itu tidak terlalu lambat? Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan 'life' di sini. Adakah ianya membawa erti bahawa pada umur 40 tahun seseorang lelaki itu sudah sepatutnya meniti suatu titian hidup yang stabil dalam erti kata dari segi kewangan, status sosial, mental, emosi, hubungan kemanusiaan dan kebijaksanaan?

Buat diriku secara peribadi, i set my `life' to begin at 30.. Ini membawa erti, pada ketika umurku 30 tahun, aku sudah berupaya menikmati suatu taraf kehidupan yang dinikmati oleh mereka yang secara umumnya berumur 40 tahun. Tapi apakah piawaian yang diguna ukur untuk menetapkan ciri-ciri kehidupan yang stabil yang perlu dicapai oleh khalayak yang meniti umur 40 tahun adalah sesuatu yang perlu dianalisa secara lebih menyeluruh dan khusus.
Erti pencapaian hidup bagi seseorang insan adalah suatu yang subjektif dan topik yang sangat luas untuk dibincangkan.

Hanya tinggal lebih kurang 2 tahun sahaja lagi sebelum umurku mencecah genap 30 tahun. 2 tahun bukanlah satu tempoh masa yang lama. Sudah tiba masanya yang kritikal bagiku untuk mengorak ayunan langkah yang lebih panjang dan pantas. Kaut sebanyak mungkin pengalaman yang mampu ditimba. Asah setajam mungkin daya memikir yang disegarkan dengan kematangan berhujah dalam menyatakan pendapat. Kesabaran, berhemah dan berprinsip. Inilah antara kualiti-kualiti yang seharusnya digilap dan diserlahkan bagi menzahirkan impianku. Impian My life begins at 30...

Salam mesra. Hingga berjumpa lagi di lain edisi.

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Anwar Ibrahim in 'Time' magazine's 100 most influential people in the world

He is not in Parliament yet and is still putting finishing touches on a coherent Opposition in Malaysia but Time magazine have picked Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2008.

He shares the platform with the Dalai Lama, Hu Jintao, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Aung San Suu Kyi, Rupert Murdoch, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and others.

This is the fifth annual list of leaders, thinkers, heroes, scientists, sports stars drawn up by the US news magazine. The de facto leader of Pakatan Rakyat is one of a clutch of Asians who were listed in the leaders and revolutionaries category. The format calls for a prominent individual to write a short essay about each person on the top 100 list.

Anwar’s citation was penned by Paul Wolfowitz, the former US Deputy Secretary of Defence. This is what he wrote:

"During the 1990s, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and a group of US Senators organised a forum to exchange views among East Asians and Americans. Asked at one session about the role of Islam in politics, Anwar replied, 'I have no use for governments which call themselves Islamic and then deny basic rights to half their population.'

"This devout Muslim leader was an impressive and eloquent advocate of tolerance, democracy and human rights. So we were shocked by his arrest and trial in 1998 on charges of corruption and sodomy. I felt his real 'crime' had been to challenge Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose impressive record will be forever stained by his treatment of Anwar.

"I joined Senator Sam Nunn and others to speak out in Anwar's defence. When he was finally released from prison in 2004, US policy on Iraq was unpopular in Malaysia, and Anwar was harshly critical. It would have been easy for him to disown our friendship, but he is not that kind of person. He kept the channels of dialogue open, even while making clear our disagreements.

"Anwar, 60, is back in the centre of Malaysian politics. The coalition led by his wife Wan Azizah has become the main Opposition bloc. His future role can be determined only by Malaysians. One can hope that they will embrace his brand of tolerance, valuing dialogue across political differences, and that this courageous leader will continue to play a leading role on the world stage."

This recognition for Anwar comes at a time when he is still trying to stabilise the alliance between the DAP, PKR and Pas, and find a place for himself in the new political landscape of Malaysia. He was barred from contesting the election on March 8 because his conviction for abuse of power.

Over the years, Anwar has tried to fight off claims that he is a stooge of the United States and the West. That was one of the main planks in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attack on Anwar after sacking him from government and Umno in 1998. More recently, Anwar has had to defend his ties with Wolfowitz, who resigned as the head of the World Bank in shame and is viewed as one of the hawks in the Bush administration which encouraged the US to invade Iraq in 2003.

Still, Anwar’s inclusion in the top 100 list shows how far he has managed to rehabilitate his reputation since his conviction on sodomy was overturned by the Federal Court in 2004. In Malaysia, he has been touted as the prime minister-in-waiting and abroad Anwar has recaptured the media headlines.

The TIME 100

Leaders & Revolutionaries

* Dalai Lama
* Vladimir Putin
* Barack Obama
* Hillary Clinton
* John McCain
* Hu Jintao
* George W. Bush
* Jacob Zuma
* Anwar Ibrahim
* Kevin Rudd
* Bartholomew I
* Ben Bernanke
* Muqtada al-Sadr
* Robert Gates
* Michelle Bachelet
* Sonia Gandhi
* Baitullah Mehsud
* Evo Morales
* Ma Ying-jeou
* Ashfaq Kayani

Source: (The Malaysian Insider) Malaysia Today

Besto Regardo,
Go Anwar, go Anuar.

以上です。